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Mark Taylor
'''Mark Taylor '''was a student and a survivor of the Columbine High School Massacre. Massacre at Columbine High School Mark had been attending Columbine for only three weeks when the shooting happened. A born-again Christian, he was exchanging ideas with Mormon students while waiting for the lines in the cafeteria to get shorter. He was between the cafeteria entrance and the parking lot (near where Scott and Castaldo sat eating lunch) when and Dylan opened fire. Spotting the two shooters at the top of the stairs, Mark initially thought they were firing paintball guns. He quickly became one of the first people to be shot. He was bending over when unbelieveable pain burst through his left upper body. He saw blood oozing from a hole in his thigh. He cried out: "'Oh my God! Help me!" The bullets he had taken caused his lungs to collapse and he fell to the ground. He played dead, trying to lay as still as possible while fighting to breathe. He was hit several more times - twice in the chest and five times in the back - while laying there. As he watched, Eric went over to where Rachel lay bleeding and shot her again as she tried to get up. Other students trampled Mark in their attempt to flee from the gunmen, thinking him dead. Eventually an officer showed up and dragged Mark to safety behind the nearby shed. Four of the eight bullets were left in him: Two near his aorta and two in his spine. He was released April 30, 1999. He was later re-admitted to Littleton Adventist for treatment of a staph infection in the wounds in his lungs. Was in and out of the hospital three times. Aftermath In 2006 Mark published his own book about his experiences of April 20, 1999: I Asked, God Answered- A Columbine Miracle. In 2007 Mark was interviewed by ABC after Seung-Hui Cho shot up Virginia Tech. Mark and his mother Donna Taylor were in Des Monies, Iowa, at the time, studying possible links between antidepressants and school shootings along with Dr. Ann Tracy, executive director of the International Coalition for Drug Awareness. Mark told the network that the college shooting brough back memories of his experiences. He said he wanted to educate the public on the dangers of using antidepressants as he believed their use played a factor in the shootings at Columbine and Virginia Tech. In 2008, Mark was put into The Lighthouse inpatient unit of Aspen Pointe in Colorado Springs after an alleged meltdown at a book store. Rumor has it that a bomb threat was called in and fingers pointed at him but this is unsubstantiated internet suppostion. The actual reason behind his detention still remains unclear but what is clear is this: When he was released, Mark Taylor was not the same person. Forced onto mood altering drugs over two consecutive stays in the ward (including Paxil, Lexapro, and Haldol), he could not even form coherent answers when he was interviewed in 2009. He couldn't even answer something as basic as where he had been living since his release. See the startling video of Mark and his mother Donna in their 2009 interview. Category:Students Category:Survivors Category:Males Category:Victims Category:Alive